CHAPTER 613: SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN, ALL EIGHT PEAKS SHATTERED

"Yun Xiao, this kid, really guessed it right!"

When Yu Shu saw the astonished face of Qingshan Sect’s Great Elder Yang Lin, he couldn’t help but praise Yun Xiao again in his heart. His choice of Hualong Peak was not without aim.

Although the Nine Palace Mountain Formation is a whole, the cultivators controlling the nine peaks are not without hierarchy. For example, Hualong Peak, located in the due north, is the second most important peak after the Main Peak of the formation.

With Yun Xiao’s understanding of the Nine Palace Mountain Formation, he had already roughly deduced who was stationed on each peak. Aside from the Main Peak, the remaining Jade Pot Sect elders would undoubtedly be facing weaker Qingshan Sect powerhouses compared to themselves.

For instance, at this moment, Yu Shu, as a Sect Leader on par with Li Feng, was so close at hand that Yang Lin, even as a Peak of Spirit Vein Realm cultivator, could no longer stir up any waves.

"Yu Shu, your Jade Pot Sect dares to come to our Qingshan Nine Peaks, that’s simply seeking death!"

Ridiculously, this Great Elder of the Qingshan Sect was still oblivious, his face twisted into a fierce smile as he yelled out. However, his words only elicited sarcastic scoffing from Yu Shu.

"Just a ’Nine Palace Mountain Formation’, what’s so great about it? Watch as I break it with my own strength!"

At this moment, Yu Shu felt a sense of superiority, especially seeing the shocked and bewildered face of the Qingshan Sect’s Great Elder as he mentioned breaking the large array.

In fact, it was not long ago that Yu Shu had learned the name of this large array from Yun Xiao, but now, as he spoke it, it seemed as if he had long understood the intricacies of the array.

"You... how do you know?"

At this moment, Yang Lin was truly startled. Even the Qingshan Sect elders had only learned the method of controlling the array from Sect Leader Li Feng a few days ago.

Previously, Li Feng had kept the array hidden and under wraps, not even allowing outsiders to know its name. How could the Sect Leader of the Jade Pot Sect know about it?

Whoosh!

Yu Shu was not about to waste words with Yang Lin. He knew that gaining early control over one of the large array’s mountains would alleviate the pressure on the other peaks and increase the chances of Yun Xiao’s success.

So, as Yu Shu’s figure moved, he appeared mere feet away from Yang Lin. The attack, mingled with a hint of Fire Attribute, changed the complexion of the Qingshan Sect Great Elder significantly.

When the Jade Pot Sect Leader made his move, facing an ordinary Peak of Spirit Vein Realm cultivator, there was no surprise to the outcome. After dozens of exchanges, Yang Lin was blasted in the back, his spine concaving, clearly puncturing his heart; there was no way he could survive.

"You... you all..."

Before his death, Yang Lin seemed to have finally realized that their Sect Leader had miscalculated this time. The folks from the Jade Pot Sect hardly seemed frantic and trapped within the array; instead, their effortless defeat of him appeared to be well-prepared.

...

At the same time as Yu Shu dealt with Qingshan Sect Great Elder Yang Lin, Lu Zhan, Li Shan, Su He, and others also succeeded. Meanwhile, Yun Xiao had quietly made his way with Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yan to the Main Peak of the Qingshan Sect.

In actuality, the Main Peak of the Nine Palace Mountain Formation was the headquarters of the Qingshan Sect. Naturally, such a critical location was guarded by Sect Leader Li Feng.

However, compared to the calm and composed Li Feng, the remaining stewards and young disciples of the Qingshan Sect all looked somewhat uneasy, seemingly aware that the Jade Pot Sect had invaded the Qingshan Nine Peaks. Whether they would be overwhelmed or not hinged on this battle.

Indeed, during this period, Yun Xiao’s reputation had grown immensely. Winning the crown of the Countries Hidden Dragon Conference was one thing, as that was merely the squabbles of the younger generation, but his subsequent annihilation of the three great families of the Imperial City and aiding the Royal Family to restore order was something even their Sect Leader hadn’t accomplished.

"Hmph, these kids, it’s about time to send them out for some real-world experience!"

Sitting on a high platform, Li Feng, his Meridian Qi incessantly controlling the array, held a hint of frustration towards the fear shown by the young disciples that he perceived, which angered him greatly.

"Hm?"

However, as Li Feng’s thoughts flashed through his mind and he felt confident about the Nine Palace Mountain Formation, his expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly stood up.

Li Feng stepped on the ground, and anyone close by would notice eight pale yellow lines extending in eight directions, as if channeling some force, continuously feeding back the sensations from those places to him.

"Hualong Peak... has lost contact?!"

Moments later, Li Feng’s expression turned extremely grim, as in just that instant, the second most important peak of the Nine Palace Mountain Formation had lost contact with him.

Pfft!

Only to see the yellow thin line that led directly to the north, emitting a faint crackling sound, followed by dissipation on the stone platform. What could this mean? Li Feng already had some conjectures in his heart.

"Pfft! Pfft pfft! Pfft pfft pfft!"

Yet, just as Li Feng thought it was the mishandling by Yang Lin, who was guarding Hualong Peak, the yellow thin lines in other directions burst open in quick succession, immediately overturning the previous thoughts in his mind.

"No! Impossible! This is the Nine Palace Mountain Formation set by our ancestral master, how could it be so easily broken?"

Li Feng’s face turned somewhat fierce, mixed with a subconscious disbelief. This was the first time the Sect Protection Array of the Qingshan Sect had been activated since the founding of the sect. Why was it breached so quickly?

In truth, if it hadn’t been for the monster Yun Xiao, who identified the Nine Palace Mountain Formation at the first moment, perhaps the moment the Jade Pot Sect stepped into the formation’s range, they would have admitted their fate.

Moreover, those not privy to the details were unaware that the array required nine strong cultivators to control the Nine Peaks. Naturally, it was impossible to break the formation by attacking each peak individually.

"Although the Nine Palace Mountain Formation is strong, in my eyes, Yun Xiao, it’s nothing but a flimsy trap!"

At the moment when everyone from the Qingshan Sect was startled by Li Feng’s outburst, a clear, loud voice suddenly came from somewhere. Immediately afterward, a coarse-clothed figure with a wooden sword on his back appeared before their eyes.

"It’s Yun Xiao!"

Sharp-eyed individuals in the crowd couldn’t help but exclaim in unison upon seeing the young figure, with some of the faint-hearted even involuntarily taking a step back, seemingly afraid that the notorious youngster would lash out and harm them.

The infamous reputation of Yun Xiao had already spread throughout the entire Xuanyue Empire. The fate of the three major families of the Imperial City had caused quite a few disciples of the Qingshan Sect to resent the decisions made by their Sect Leader and Elders, although they dared not voice it openly.

Everyone knew that Yun Xiao, who had destroyed the three major families of the Imperial City, and the Jade Pot Sect, would one day seek out the Qingshan Sect for revenge for their joint destruction. They hadn’t expected, however, that this day would come so swiftly.

Even though there was only the lone figure of Yun Xiao there, even though the youth seemed to only possess late-stage Spirit Vein Realm cultivation, many Qingshan Sect disciples still felt immense pressure.

Amongst the crowd, two figures had glittering eyes. If Yun Xiao had taken notice of this place, he would have recognized these two—they had crossed paths with him before. They were none other than the two great talents of the Qingshan Sect: Mu Xuan and Fei Yan!

Relative to the others, Fei Yan’s condition seemed better. After all, Mu Xuan had an arm severed by Yun Xiao, and even though they found a High-level Meridian Refining Master in time to reattach it, his cultivation talent could no longer compare to before.

But even though Fei Yan had advanced to the late stage of the Meridian Union Realm during these past few months, upon seeing the coarse-clothed youth, a sense of fear welled up in his heart without reason.

Perhaps ever since being defeated by Yun Xiao at the Jade Pot Courtyard, these two great talents of the Qingshan Sect no longer had the confidence to oppose him. Not to mention, wasn’t Li Yue, the once top-ranking senior brother of Qingshan Sect, also dead at the hands of Yun Xiao? They certainly didn’t want to follow in Li Zhi’s footsteps.

"Hmph, Yun Xiao, I have to say, you’ve got quite the nerve to dare come alone to the main peak of Qingshan!"

While many young disciples of the Qingshan Sect felt apprehensive, Sect Leader Li Feng coldly snorted, seemingly already sensing that there were no other strong cultivators from the Jade Pot Sect behind Yun Xiao.

"Squeak squeak!"

Seeing himself ignored by the old man, Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yan on Yun Xiao’s shoulder immediately became disgruntled. After all, it was now a Sixth Rank middle-level Vein Demon, and in terms of combat power, it was comparable to some late-stage, or even peak, Spirit Vein Realm cultivators.

Li Feng naturally would not concern himself with such a tiny Vein Demon, as he still held an ace up his sleeve. Even if Yun Xiao and the Vein Demon joined forces, they probably wouldn’t be his match.

"You think you need so many people to deal with you?"

Yun Xiao was unconcerned about Li Feng’s attitude. After calming down the ruffled Chi Yan, he spoke gently with a smile, then added: "Is this so-called Nine Palace Mountain Formation the Qingshan Sect’s biggest reliance?"

"How does he know about the Nine Palace Mountain Formation?"

Upon hearing this, Li Feng reacted with the same shock as Yang Lin and seemed to understand the reason why the connections to the other Eight Peaks had vanished. Therefore, his face grew even uglier.

"By now, my Jade Pot Sect Elders must already be seating themselves on the Qingshan Eight Peaks, wouldn’t they? How about it, Sect Leader Li Feng, do you still want to resist stubbornly?"

Yun Xiao spoke calmly, seemingly completely disregarding the fact that he was caught in the main peak of Qingshan, next to Li Feng, a cultivator who was only half a step away from Earth Rank. His voice was thick with an implicit threat.

"Yun Xiao, so what if you know of the Nine Palace Mountain Formation? Do you really think that just because you’ve taken over the Qingshan Eight Peaks, you can break my Qingshan Sect’s Sect Protection Array?"

Just as Yun Xiao’s words fell and he looked at Li Feng with a slight smile, the Qingshan Sect Leader suddenly laughed loudly and raised his voice. His words infused a glimmer of hope into the hearts of the disciples of the Qingshan Sect.